WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is proceeding with an effort to help Americans stop taking psychiatric drugs, a practice known as deprescribing. In early July 2026, dozens of mental health professionals met with federal health officials to develop clinical guidance for providers on helping patients discontinue antidepressant medications.

During the meeting, participants reviewed guidance from European nations regarding deprescribing and worked on recommendations for nonmedication-based options for patients to address mental health, such as therapy. The discussions were part of a broader federal initiative led by the Department of Health and Human Services to support safer, evidence-informed approaches to reducing reliance on psychiatric medications.

A senior HHS official stated that the group discussed gaps in research around deprescribing SSRIs. The discussed research gaps included side effects of stopping SSRIs, which vary by drug and duration of use, and how to distinguish those side effects from a return of depressive symptoms. Addressing these knowledge gaps is intended to help clinicians better support patients through medication tapering.

Why It Matters

The initiative reflects growing attention to antidepressant discontinuation challenges, an issue documented in prior research including a 2017 entry on "Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome" in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. Secretary Kennedy’s efforts align with his documented focus on reevaluating medical protocols, as seen in his Secretarial Comments on the Consensus-Based Entity's 2025 Activities published in the Federal Register in July 2026.